To Escape the World
by Sonix95
Summary: Never let it be said that I didn't try, but the world that I know is simply too vicious to be a part of anymore for me. However, when I went to a certain mountain to escape it all, I never knew what I'd find...
1. The Beginning, and a New Friend

**A/N: Well, I suppose that this has been a long time coming, ever since I ran into this little gem of a game that we've all come to love. So, I welcome you to the second fanfiction that I have decided to produce, and in the first time for over two years. I thank each and every one of you who read this now, and for taking time out of your day to read my fanfic, as well as to leave any form of constructive criticism in the reviews. Now, without further ado, let's hit it!**

 **Warnings: There will be mature language, as well as instances of mature or graphic content, generally caused by the death of the main character.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the content shown here, except for the idea of the plot line of this story and only this story, as well as any Original Characters that will appear. Except for the previously stated, everything belongs to the owner(s) of the game/story that this a parody of. All rights are reserved.**

 **Chapter 1: The beginning, and a new Friend**

"Never let it be said that I am not a man of my word."

That's the best that I can say in my current situation, which not many people know of. I continue cursing myself for my own sense of morality, all the while hiking up this bloody mountain located solidly in the middle of nowhere.

I suppose I should get introductions out of the way, yeah? The name's Chris. Common name, I know, but it IS mine, you see. Me? I'm a pretty normal guy. Just shy of six feet tall, with my dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, I generally go about wearing jeans or a pair of black pants and a gray t-shirt. I'm the kind of guy that can blend into a crowd, but if you get to know me, you'd probably say that I'm able to really stand out. But that's not important at this juncture, as I'm currently alone in the Adirondack Mountains in New York state. Now, you might be asking "Why are you there?" Well, that's an easy one.

Except for a select few, fuck the human race.

Now, I know that's an extreme statement to make, as I am a human as well, yeah? Well, many of the people around me are complete asshats, generally being a bunch of douche bags, and overall are quite the unpleasant company to be in. However, my family is not, and it's for that reason alone that I don't condemn the human race all together.

Current events just make it that much worse.

Rather than get someone who can fix this oh-so-great country, we instead make it worse for ourselves and everyone around us.

So, I decided to escape it all.

Now, after making a vow to myself that I'd find a nice little community in one of the lesser traveled areas of the Adirondacks, which I found in a little place called Forestport, I then went along one of the roads leading deeper in. There, I found a nice little lake, simply referred to as "North Lake."

Simply put, it's a man-made reservoir that is roughly three miles long. It's a nice little place, away from it all. So now, I'm climbing a mountain that has a white face on the peak, just to see if it's habitable up there, and to make myself a new home.

Unfortunately, halfway up, a storm hit.

So there I was, hiking through the rain, just trying to find a little spot for shelter until this thing blows over. Fortunately, there was a cave just a little ways away from me. Unfortunately, when I do get into it, it's darker than all hell. And in my haste, I was too busy rushing into the cave to get my flashlight out and notice the gaping hole in front of me.

So, as you all can probably tell happened, I fell in.

Now, here I am, falling into the depths of this cave that most people more than likely don't know even exists, with no form of communication to the outside world, although that's the furthest thing from my mind at the moment, all things considered. They say that when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes, giving you a final chance to regret or appreciate everything you've been through in life. This automatic response was halted as soon as I felt what felt like a barrier slowing my decent, just barely to the point in which I could walk away uninjured, although hurting and very, very sore. Then, I smacked into the ground, back first, knocking the air out of me. I decided to lay there for a while, just to relax for a while, and recover from my near-death experience. Little did I know, however, that something was happening about six feet directly below me...

Time. That is all that she knew, was time passing by. Thoughts were pointless here, as she was already dead. Her lack of a brain, having been decomposed, as well as most of her body, made it so that most forms of thought were sluggish at best, being powered by an inordinate amount of this certain thing, which powers the souls of all humans.

Determination.

Determination, or the will to continue on with living, is present in all forms of humans, although in varying amounts.

She had an amount that was above and beyond anything this world had ever seen before.

However, because of this, she has been in the same place for many years, coming and going in the blink of an eye, or was it an eternity? She couldn't tell.

So here she lay, buried by the very people who treated her more as a family than her own above ground. To think, that she had once wanted to kill anything and everything on the surface, and set those who treated her as though she was one of them free.

Now, she just wanted to feel again. To see, to hear, even to breathe. The things that mortals took for granted, she wanted to be able to feel the sensation of it all again.

So, when her soul felt the presence of another, one that could rival her own strength of determination, she felt drawn to it.

Closer and closer it got, bringing with it the warmth of someone who could grant her the passion of living again, the excitement of seeing the world again, the happiness of being accepted...

The ability to feel the world again.

So, when she felt the presence stop directly above her grave, and then dim slightly, as though passing out, she took her chance, and lunged for the warmth. Using her own determination, she grabbed a hold of the soul, and joined herself to it. With that, she began to be able to think, and so she did. She happily noted that the body had accepted her presence, as though it was looking for something like this all along. However, with her new host asleep, she decided to do the same thing, to recover more of her strength, and to bask in the feeling of doing so again.

And so she slept, for the first time in centuries.

I was in a dream, but not unlike any other that I had ever been in before. Or was it even a dream? I couldn't tell.

Here I am, laying in a field, with what seems to be my grandparent's old home nearby. Come to think of it... This is exactly like my grandparent's property, which I learned so well that I could navigate the entirety of it blindfolded while I was in my childhood years.

So what was I doing here?

Before I could finish contemplating that, I noticed what seemed to be a person, falling from the sky. They were too high up to make out characteristics, but they seemed to be falling straight towards the pond that my grandparents had near their home. So, I did what anyone with good intentions would do in this situation.

I ran, straight toward their impact point, hoping to be able to do something to save them.

As I reached the pond, I started rushing through the water, attempting to get to the middle of the water source, knowing that my grandparent's pond wasn't deep by any standards.

I was wrong.

Before I knew it, I was waist deep in water that shouldn't have been higher than my knees, and then I was treading water three feet later, with fifteen feet to still go.

This pond never went above my waist, even in the rainiest of conditions.

Yet I still went on, being determined to do what I could to save this person, who was now close enough to the ground to make out a bright green and yellow sweatshirt, and brown pants.

By the time I got underneath them, they were close enough to make out facial features, although I was more focused on saving them, barring the fact that I had no idea how I would do so, seeing as the impact from that height would be like slamming into concrete at terminal velocity.

Just before impact, however, a bright red glow, originating from their chest, erupted around them, and their decent slowed, to the point in which by the time they were to hit the water, they may as well have just been gently set into it.

Deciding to not look a gift horse in the mouth, I grab onto their arm, drag them to shore, and then, after making it to dry land, pick them up and start walking toward the house.

I take this opportunity to study their facial features, as well as admire how they look, as she could be described as cute, or even beautiful by some standards.

Her hair was a light brown, and also rather short, being cut off right at the neck. Her body had the appearance of roughly being twenty or so, matching my age rather well, with me also being twenty, going on twenty-one. She had a nice hourglass shape, and almost seemed to fit perfectly into my arms.

At that, I force my thoughts on her to stop, and a heavy blush rises to my face. "Damn it all, I just met her and I already see her as beautiful or cute? Jesus, these hormones of mine are just going crazy today, aren't they?" I mutter, before making it to the house and entering.

Sure enough, the inside of the house is exactly like my grandparents have it, down to the positioning of the television, my grandfather's recliner, which he would always sit in, and the placements of everything within the living room, kitchen, and everything else in the house. Before I could get too caught up in my nostalgia, however, I remembered the body I held in my arms, and, after fetching a load of towels to help dry her off, set her in the love seat that's in the middle of the living room, before going and sitting in the recliner, being lost to my nostalgia. I then began to muse for a while, easily passing what felt like hours away.

Before I knew it, I heard a low groaning sound coming from my new guest. Guessing that she was waking up, I look over toward her, seeing her shuffle about, before sitting up, and holding her head in her hands.

"Oh, my aching head..." she mutters, and I start at the thought that I found her voice to be rather nice, though I decide to not think on it, and instead welcome her.

"Well, you sure made an entrance into my life. How are you feeling?"

When I first fell asleep, I dreamed that I started falling. Before any logic could kick in, I felt absolute terror, when I started tumbling through the air toward what seemed to be certain doom. Before I could do anything to stop it, my mind shuts down, and everything goes black.

When I wake up, I feel extremely dizzy, as well as drained for some reason or another. It feels like I'm being... carried? By who, I wonder...? However, before I could really think on it, I hear a voice. "Damn it all, I just met her and I already see her as beautiful or cute? Jesus, these hormones of mine are just going crazy today, aren't they?" Everything starts to go out again, fading into the silence of unconsciousness, although I manage to think one more thing before that happens...

'He has a nice voice...'

After what felt like a few minutes, I wake up again, and attempt to open my eyes before snapping them closed, feeling a massive headache coming on due to the light that assaulted my eyes. I let out a low groan, while slowly sitting up from what seemed like an over sized chair. "Oh, my aching head..." I groan out, feeling like my head was about to split open at the seams. I hold my head in my hands, waiting for the aching to pass.

"Well, you sure made an entrance into my life. How are you feeling?"

I start at the voice that came from my left, before removing my hands from my head and looking at the individual with wide eyes. I see him blush, before quickly looking away, muttering to himself about his hormones, whatever those my be. Either way, I look straight at him, narrowing my eyes somewhat at his refusal to look me in the eyes, before answering.

"I'm just fine, thank you." I hear her say, and I was practically forced to look into her eyes again. I've always been a fan of oddly colored eyes, and hers easily took the cake with what could very well have been rubies or garnets that were made into the irises that I was staring at, entranced. Her narrowed eyes were glowering at me though, and I felt as though I had stared enough, coughing lightly into my hand, before giving her a large smile. "Howdy, the name's Chris, and welcome to... well, I would say my abode, but I figure it'd be better to address it as my grandparent's home." I say, giving a gesture to the house around us, though she keeps her eyes transfixed on me, looking at me warily, before nodding.

"My name's Chara." she says simply, although she seems confused. "I have no idea what's going on here, though." she continues quietly.

"Well, I'm gonna be honest here, I figure that this is a dream." I say, disappointed that my mind could conjure up an image like this, only to rip it away from me. "I mean, I haven't been here in at least a decade, and I distinctly remember passing out in to bottom of a hole on the side of a mountain." I see her eyes widen, before looking away, pressing her fingers together.

"I, uh... I'm pretty sure that's my fault..." she replies cautiously, before looking at me again. "I might have forced your consciousness into your mindscape when I entered your body..."

I just stare at her, somewhat confused by her words. "What do you mean?" I ask, hoping I didn't press any buttons I shouldn't have. I immediately regret that decision, as I see her eyes flood with tears. On instinct, I jump out of the recliner, rush over to her, and give her a hug, which she stiffens at, before very slowly relaxing into my hold. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything painful..." I say quietly, going with my instincts to comforting, that being to hold her close and rub small circles in her back.

"I was dead... I was dead for so long..." she cries into my shoulder, before pulling back and giving me a beaming, although tear-filled, smile. "But your soul gave me a second chance, a chance at fixing my mistakes and being able to experience living again after so long..."

"I..." I start, at a loss for words, before letting go, and trying to figure out what this all could mean. "How could I have given you a second chance? I don't have anywhere near the ability to bring back the dead..." I say, extremely confused.

"I..." she cuts herself off, before looking extremely nervous. "I used what was left of my soul and my determination to grab onto your soul and become a part of it..." she mutters, looking away. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't really ask for permission..." she says, still refusing to look me in the eye.

I felt my heart go out for her, before pulling her into another hug. "Hey, it's alright." I comfort her, getting her to look at me again, eyes wide with disbelief. "If I were in your situation, I might very well have done the same thing." I say, before shrugging. "I say it's all said and done. Now, how long have you been... uh, dead for?" I ask, struggling with the concept that I essentially have fallen for a spirit.

"I... don't know..." Chara mutters, "I sort of didn't have a brain anymore, so I couldn't really tell except for the fact that it was a very, very long time..."

I was about to reply, before I felt what could only be the sensation of waking up. I just sigh, noticing that my legs and arms have started becoming transparent. "I guess I'm waking up." I say, before looking at her extremely worried face. "Hey, I won't forget about this conversation, I'm sure of it." I say, attempting to reassure her. "Besides, we'll try to figure out how communicate while I'm awake, alright?" I finish, before fading out of my mind.

"Okay... and thank you..." I hear Chara say, before everything goes black.

When I open my eyes, I'm staring up at the hole that I fell through, seeing the sunlight filtering down from what seems like miles above. "Damn, how did I survive?" I mutter to myself, before standing up and looking ahead, deeper into the cave. I look up one last time, before chuckling lightly. "I guess this is the start of a new adventure, as most stories would like to call it, eh, Chara?" I say, before soldiering onward, and hearing a light giggle in the back of my mind.

 **A/N: And there's the first chapter! As good as I normally am at typing things up, this actually took me about 3 hours to complete, which by my standards is rather slow. That's neither here nor there, however, is it? I suppose that I'll just have to see what you all think about this story, eh? See you all next time!**

 **-Sonix95**


	2. The Ex-Time Lord, and the Mother

To Escape the World, Ch. 2

 **Greetings, to all who have taken the time to not only read this story, but also express interest in continuing on with it! I welcome you all to the second chapter of "To Escape the World!" Now, let's get right back into it, and remember, please take the time to review! You can't improve without critisism!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not claim any of what is portrayed in this story as my own, outside of the plotline and any Original Characters that appear. Undertale is owned by Toby Fox and all of his associates. Please support the official release.**

 **Chapter 2: The Ex-Time Lord, and the Mother**

I continue walking forward, heading toward what appeared to be an archway in the darkness. Thankfully, I can see some light filtering through from the other side, so I don't need to do anything involving a generation of light yet. All the while, I have my hands folded behind my head, in a relatively casual stance. Meanwhile, Chara is still in my head, watching what I can see, due to being directly tied into my soul, and is able to feel everything that I can, although to a lesser extent... Not that I knew that, of course.

After I pass through the archway, I see a room that is surprisingly dark, outside of the light shining in the dead center of it. While the walls are not visible, there is something that is visible, and it's a little on the odd side.

There's a lone flower, with a white face and six golden petals surrounding the face. Now, normally, there wouldn't be too much going on with just a flower, right? Wrong.

This flower was _glaring_ at me.

Not in any form of figurative sense, you see. This thing was literally glaring me dead in the face, with pitch-black eyes and a set of lips pressed into a thin line.

"Who are _you?_ " the little bugger asks, and it sends shivers down my spine. There's something about that voice that makes me a bit nervous, as though it has something in store.

Maybe I'm overthinking things.

"Last I checked, it was polite for someone to introduce themselves before asking for another's name." I reply, looking the flower dead in the eye. "But, since you're so _insistent_ on it, The name's Chris." I say, not knowing what is about to happen.

The little guy seems to brighten up a little, hastily putting on a false smile. I could tell one from anywhere, having worked in customer service before. "Oh, the name's Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" It says in that high-pitched voice, and looks at me in a way that screams "dangerous". "Boy, you certainly look confused. You're not from the Underground, are you?" Flowey says, tilting slightly to the side, as though it were a human tilting it's head. Flowey then straightens out, and looks as though they made a resolution of some sort. "I guess little old me will have to teach you how stuff works around here!"

Before I can make any comeback, I felt what could only described as be a sharp tug on... something... in the center of my chest. Before I could even react to the sensation, what appears to be a bright purple heart appears and floats directly in front of me. I just look at it in awe, before touching it, right on the center of the side facing me. When I do, I swear that I felt fingers on the center of my back, but when I quickly spun around, nothing was there.

"That's your SOUL!" Flowey says, and based on the way they said it, I was almost certain it was an abbreviation, but for what, I couldn't guess. "It's the culmination of everything that you are!" They continue, before looking at it with a critical eye. "Can't say I've seen that color before, though..." They finish, and I take an offended look.

"Excuse me, but I happen to like the color." I say, cupping my hands around the floating heart. "I would prefer it if you didn't judge based on just that." I continue.

Flowey frowns, before plastering on that fake smile once again. "Your SOUL is weak right now, but it can get stronger! "How", you might ask? Why, LOVE, of course!" They say in that oh-so-painfully-obvious fake happiness, and I'm immediately set on guard again. LOVE? If that were the case, then I figure my soul wouldn't be THAT weak, just because of the way I am. I'm a lover, not a fighter.

That's not to say I couldn't fight, but whatever. Technicalities.

"Down here," Flowey continues, having not noticed my thoughts, "We can give LOVE with... little, white... 'friendliness pellets.'" Friendliness pellets, huh? I don't buy that. There's no reason for them to be in the shape of pellets. That, and he was wearing this weird grin on as he said it... "You want some LOVE, right?" They ask, turning their attention back to me. I just stare back. "Here! Catch as many of them as you can!" he jeers, almost sounding like he's saying "Bet you can't catch them!"

I wasn't falling for that.

Without taking my eyes off of Flowey, I move out of the way of the pellets, not trusting them in the slightest. Thankfully, the heart moves along with me, mimicking my action. The grin on his face falters for just a moment, but I caught it quick enough to smirk. So, I was right.

"Hey, you missed them!" Flowey says jovially, though I caught an undercurrent of threat behind the words. "How about you try again?" They say, before launching more of them, this time more numerous and harder to avoid. Now they look like they're actually putting a little effort into it.

Deciding to see if I can make them slip up, I start humming a fast-paced tune, one that they, as well as Chara, could never hope to recognize, all the while jumping around the pellets, never breaking pace in the tune. After I dodged the last of the pellets, I looked back over to Flowey. I immediately regret it, upon seeing the look on their face.

At this point, Flowey's got a look on their face that can only be described as straight-up _demonic._ "You know what's going on here, don't you?" They say in a lilting voice, sending shivers down my spine at how pleasant it sounds, despite the situation. Suddenly, before I can even blink, There's a massive number of pellets surrounding me in a circle. No way out, it seems. Not even through a jump, as there are simply too many of them. "You just wanted to see me _suffer._ " They continue, still not dropping the tone of voice. This is starting to get really disconcerting, as all I can do is sit and watch what could only be described as my imminent death approach. Suddenly, about a third of the pellets launch toward me, far too fast to react to, and still too many to avoid even if I could, and slam straight into my soul.

The agony is indescribable.

I've taken plenty of nasty hits in my life, including having a full-sized ATV parked directly on my back when I was seven. That was not a fun experience, having a full-sized seven hundred pound machine sitting on my back for all of about ten seconds before my grandfather could get it off of me.

This is completely different from that.

It feels as though I'm taking several knives straight into my body in the corresponding points that they hit my soul. The part that sucks is that my soul was getting hit on all sides. I'm sure you could guess what that means.

Before I can even think of any form of retaliation, I collapse, my body forcibly shutting itself down in an attempt to mitigate the pain, and I'm stunned. Gashes open up on all of the corresponding parts of my body, as though some serial killer grabbed a short knife and went nuts on me. Unfortunately, I'm still conscious. And, to top it all off, My soul is still in the open, and to top it off, there are still many, _many_ pellets still in play.

 _"Die."_ Flowey says, and I feel my actual heart seize up in terror. Then, Flowey begins _laughing._ I don't mean just any laugh, I mean the kind of laugh that only an entity that is demonic and hell-bent on killing the thing in front of it can make. Then to my absolute horror, the rest of the pellets start to slowly move in, as though enjoying my reaction of fear and wanting to savor it.

'I can't die here... I still haven't finished my word, I _can't die here!_ ' I scream in my mind, and Chara's fear is right behind my own, having only just gotten to re-experience the feeling of living. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, my body simply won't respond, as it's still in agony and in forced shut-down, and there's no way out...

That is, until a swirl of fire appears around me, and then expands outward, vaporizing all of the pellets. Flowey gets a look of confusion on its face, before suddenly getting hit by a fireball that's moving at the speeds that a major league baseball player can pitch at, causing them to scream in agony and become uprooted, flying into the darkness surrounding the room. However, I can still barely see them, and when they land, they manage to get their roots back into the ground, and retreat underground. I stare hard at the place they disappeared at, before sighing in relief. However, the action causes the pain to catch up to me even more so, having been mitigated somewhat by adrenaline, making me wince. In the back of my mind, I can barely hear Chara groaning in agony, making me feel as though I should've seen that coming, and that thought made me feel guilty. Before I could really think on it, however, I hear a voice in the archway straight ahead of me, sounding calm and kind, almost like a mother's voice.

"What a despicable creature, tormenting such an innocent youth..." They say again, before walking into the light, revealing what could only be described as a goat/dragon hybrid, with bright red eyes, and a purple robe with an ornate design, looking almost ceremonial. However, I couldn't really answer her, being in a bit too much pain for that. "Ah, are you okay, my child?" She continues, and it's everything I can do to shake my head in the negative. "Here, let me heal you." She replies, and moves her hands together, making a green glow appear in between her hands, before pointing them toward me.

What I feel could be described closest to pleasantly warm water surrounding me, and the pain of my injuries fading away, until I felt as well as I did before I fell down to this place.

I hop up onto my feet, stretching my arms over my head, before giving a thankful smile toward the being in front of me. "Thanks for the help back there, I'm pretty sure I was just about to be a goner. My name is Chris, it's nice to meet you, though I wish it was under better conditions!" I say, presenting my hand to the being for a handshake.

She gives me a pleasant smile, before moving forward, ' _Jesus,_ she's, like, eight feet tall!' and taking my hand in a firm handshake. "My name is Toriel, young one. You're the first human in a long time to have fallen down here..." Toriel pleasantly says, though she seems to have a distant look on her face. "Never mind that, young one. Let us head to my abode within the Ruins." She continues after shaking her head, as though to rid herself of the bad memories. She then turns and walks through the archway, leaving me to my own devices for a while.

I take this moment to try and establish contact with Chara, using the link that we share thanks to my soul. 'Hey, Chara, can you hear me?'

'Yeah, although I'm not sure if you can hear me...' she replies, though it sounds like she's almost muttering.

'I can hear you, but you're really quiet right now, were you muttering or were you talking at a normal volume?' I ask, concerned about this turn of events.

'Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just muttering, mostly to double-check if you could still hear that or not. Turns out you can.' she replies, now at a relatively normal volume. The way she says it, it feels almost like she's wanting to say something else, but decides against it.

'Cool.' I say, smiling lightly, before looking ahead. "I guess I'd best start following, eh?" I say out loud, chuckling lightly. I shake my head, before walking forward.

 **A/N: Sorry about the delay to anybody who has been interested in this story, as well as the short chapter. I had a bit of a personal emergency that occurred, making me put any and all writing on hold until it got situated. Thankfully, I was able to rectify the issue rather quickly for what it was, though it will still have me on shaky ground for another two weeks after this chapter is published. I thank anybody who stuck through the wait, as well as those still willing to continue reading. This concludes this chapter, so please remember, leave a review if there's a glaring issue that you see! I'm always up for improving my works, as well as my writing skills! Until next time, this has been To Escape the World, and until next time!**

 **-Sonix95**


	3. Learn Something New Every Day

**Hello to all, and no, you aren't reading that incorrectly, this is, in fact, a new chapter in this story.**

 **I'm very sorry for the wait.**

 **However, I'd like to simply say a few things that have been happening in my life that have caused this absolutley massive delay in this new chapter:**

 **Getting fired, getting a new job. Getting back on my feet after getting fired. Going on a family trip, which ended up demoralizing me due to my Grandmother being diagnosed with beginning stage Alzheimer's. Leaving the job that I obtained to work construction. Not getting paid enough to survive on without hand-outs (And I DESPISE hand-outs.). Moving. Getting ANOTHER job. Moving again. And last, but not least:**

 **The dreaded Writer's Block (TM).**

 **So, as I have stated before, I am deeply apologetic for the wait, but I think it's about time for me to get back in the saddle get this ball rolling again. Or whatever correlation to that phrase that you want to use. But first, the disclaimer:**

 **DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit, fan-based alternate plotline. I do not own any of the content that is provided in this story, outside of any original characters and variations of the plot that was provided by the original game of UNDERTALE. All mentions of characters that previously have existed in the game belong to Toby Fox as well as any assotiates of Toby Fox in the production of the game. Please, for the love of GOD, support the official release. I don't need copyright claims on my ass.**

 **Chapter 3: Learn Something New Every Day**

"Welcome to the Ruins, young one." The recently introduced Toriel states, showing me a mostly empty room that has a large door opposite the entrance. "Here, we must navigate through them by solving puzzles." She says, before demonstrating using the pressure plates on the right-hand side of the room, and flipping the switch to the side of the door, causing it to slowly slide open.

"Excuse me, Toriel, but why specifically puzzles?" I ask, legitimately confused as to why it would be puzzles, and not something more obvious to keep outsiders at bay, such as traps. "I mean, if you're trying to keep outsiders at bay, wouldn't it be better to use traps or the like?"

Toriel just gives me a surprised look, before blushing lightly, though as far as I know, it could be the most hardcore blush I'd ever bore witness to, just that it's mitigated by her fur. "Um, well, it's mostly due to my own forgetfulness sometimes." She admits, and I hear a light, very unladylike snort in the back of my mind. "Though, after the last several humans fell, it was determined that it would be simpler to use puzzles, as they always seemed to be younger humans." She says, before sighing. "But enough of the past, let us keep moving." She declares, before moving onward through the door. I make a move to follow, but pause at seeing the sign on the wall.

'Only the strong may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones, both walk not the middle road.' I hear out of the recesses of my mind. 'If only this sign was around back when I was alive. I may have realized where my thoughts were going...' Chara mutters, taking on a melancholy tone.

'Do you want to talk about it?' I ask her, letting my empathetic side take over.

'No. At least, not yet.' She replies, firmly, showing she will not budge on this. 'Let's just follow m- Toriel.' she says, lightly stuttering at the end, though I didn't catch it.

'Alrighty.' I reply, before moving on to catch up with Toriel.

"Here is the next puzzle, young one." Toriel presents, before moving to the end of the hallway. "All you have to do is figure out which levers to flip." She says, giving a gentle smile.

"Hm..." I reply, before taking a cursory glace around the room for a hint. I see the sign on the wall to the left of the room, and, after quickly reading it, begin to puzzle it out quickly. "Let's see, it says to stay on the path..." I mutter to myself, before looking and seeing that there are levers stationed right above the pathway, which makes two branches, and one lever that is stationed off of the path, making the solution obvious. "Got it!" I call out to her with a small smile, moving toward her while flipping the two levers required to open the door. As the door slowly slides open, she gives me a smile.

"Well done, young one." She praises, very similarly to how a mother would, and I just grin a little bit, thinking about my own mother and the surprising amount of similarities between them. Before I can make a comment, however, she moves into the next room over. I just follow along, looking at the Ruins as we go along, and admiring the architecture. Before long, the path makes a left hand turn, and there's a training dummy set up here, much like a solemn sentry, always watching over their post. "Now, normally, I'd test you to see how well you follow instructions, as well as introduce you to the machanics of an encounter here." She says, getting a grim look on her face. "I'm not sure what that vile being put into your head, but here in the Underground, most monsters do not wish to fight you. Instead, we use the battle system as a form of easy communcation, as it bears the SOUL and all of it's intentions, but not thoughts, to the other participant." Toriel explains, before glowering a little, and taking on a dead serious tone. "But know this, young one. Monsters are suseptible to negative intentions, including but not at all limited to debilitating, or even killing blows." She remarks. I just blanch at this.

"Seriously? That makes no sense at all!" I exclaim, surprising her. "I mean, why would you use a system like this, which could very easily be turned against you, as a common practice!? I mean, if you think about it, any human that came down here that wasn't as nice as me could easily just up and commit mass murder, or even genocide!" I rant. "I mean, seriously." I mutter, calming down a little and taking on a sad tone. "I have enough assholes in my race that it wouldn't startle me in the slightest." I state, idly feeling Chara shift uncomfortably in the back of my mind.

Toriel just looks at me in surprise, as though she was shocked that I could openly admit that. "Well..." She trails, before seeming to gather her wits. "Either way, let us just move on." She says hurriedly, before moving onwards.

'Before you go...' Chara calls, catching my attention. 'I noticed that you could read the sign earlier. How is that possible? Nobody that I personally knew outside of my family could read.' She says, and I stop in my tracks before thinking about it for a second.

'Well, I learned in school.' I remark, and she starts in surprise.

'But only the richest can afford school!' She retorts, 'And that means that you wouldn't be out and about mountain climbing on your own, let alone the cursed Mount Ebbot!'

After that statement, I pause, before looking at the ceiling and sighing. 'Okay, just gonna take a step back, here.' I say, before asking her the question that I knew I wasn't going to like the answer to much. 'What year do you think it is?' I ask, and brace myself.

'Uh...' Chara pauses, before thinking. 'Well, when I fell, it was 1804. After that, I stayed with Mom for about two years before passing, so I'm going to guess 1830's.' She replied, sounding quite sure of herself. I just put my hand to my temple, sighing.

'I'm sorry to say it, dearest, but you're off by a pretty large margin. Explains why you and Toriel talk the way you do, sounding surprisingly sophisticated.' I say, unaware of the small blush that flared up on Chara's face when I said the word "dearest". 'It's 2017 right now.' I reply, and I feel her freeze up in disbelief. 'I understand that this is more than likely one hell of a shock for you, but let me point out some quick things for you here: In this day and age, everyone is required to go to school until you are sixteen, and also, This mountain hasn't been called "Ebbot" for at least one hundred years, since it's been simply referred to as "White Face Mountain" for as long as I can remember, as well as in any major history books.' I say, before feeling what could only be a shudder of sorrow.

'I...' Chara starts, putting her face in her hands, though I didn't know that. 'I've missed so much, and monsters are still trapped after all this time...' she mourns, before her prescence seemingly shrinks in my awareness. 'I... I need time to think.' She mutters, before going quiet. I nod, understanding her situation.

'I understand.' I reply, moving forward. 'Just know that I'm here to help you with whatever you'd need, and that includes a shoulder to cry on.' I say, trying to soothe her a bit. I just hear a faint 'Mm-hm...' before going mostly silent, with quick, heaving breaths, the classic sound of someone trying to hide their sorrows. I sigh, before tuning out the sounds of her crying, despite how much it tugs at my heartstrings to hear it. 'She just needs time.' I think to myself, before sadly shaking my head and moving onwards, catching up to Toriel. "Sorry about that, got lost in my thoughts." I say to Toriel, and she just gives me an understanding nod and a small smile.

"It's fine, young one." She replies, before gesturing forward. "The puzzle is just ahead, in the next room." She proclaims, before moving forward. As I make a move to follow her, I'm suddenly jumped at by what appears to be a giant frog, startling me, and causing my SOUL to pop out of it's confines of my body, signifying the start of an encounter.

"Woah!" I nearly shout, reeling backwards, both at the shock of the frog jumping at me, and my SOUL popping out on it's own volition, making me quite paranoid, considering the last instance this happened in. The frog appears to do the same thing, appearing to be just as surprised by my shout as I was of it jumping at me. Upon realizing this was no threat that stood before me, I just casually raise my hand, and try to strike up an idle conversation. "Uh... Hi? You're looking quite fine on this nice day we're having." I say, making the frog-like creature freeze. Before long, it's face lights up bright red, and it ribbits in what could only be described as a confused, but flattered, fashion. However, before anything else can be done, Toriel storms into the fight, giving the frog what could only be described as a stormy glower. The frog looks away, abashed at being caught starting an encounter, before fleeing from the glare on Toriel's face. I just stare at the retreating frog, confused out of my wits. "Well, I guess I won that one." I remark, before noticing that a message seems to have popped out of nowhere in my mind, saying I got zero gold and zero EXP. "Huh." I mutter, before noticing Toriel has already moved to be in front of what I can only assume is the next puzzle, though it is just a large mass of spikes on a bridge.

"The next puzzle is a very possibly dangerous one." Toriel says, gesturing to the bridge. "Solve it however you see fit, if you would." She encourages, before stepping off to the side.

I glace at the bridge, trying to figure out how this would work. "Uh..." I intone, before sighing. "You got a hint for me, Toriel?" I ask, looking at her.

She gives a small smile, before gesturing back into the hallway the led us to the bridge. "There's a hint on the sign back there, if you can read it. Do not be ashamed if you cannot though, as it is not common to be able to read." She says, reminding me of her actual age.

"Wait, what?" I ask, acting as though I had no idea what she was talking about. "Of course I know how to read, schooling is required on the surface in modern times." I tell her, deciding it'd be best to simply act as though I had no clue how long they were trapped for, which could easily have been several hundred years at this point. I shudder at the thought, though not visibly.

"I... Oh." Toriel mutters. "I apologise, I had no idea." Toriel remarks. "It has been so long since we've been on the surface." She says, looking off into space.

"Based on that, am I safe to assume you've all been down here for many years?" I ask, wanting to get a straight number.

"You'd be correct, young one. It has been about four hundred winters since we were locked down here, though next to no monster has been around for that long." She replies, blowing my mind right out of the water. "As a matter of fact, outside of myself, there's more than likely a total of three or four monsters in the entire underground that remember the surface." She remarks, gaining a macabre look. "But enough of that talk, we can continue it at my home. Let us make haste." She says, deciding to forgo me completing the puzzle myself, and just making forward progress, idly completing the puzzles along the way. I move to keep up with her, making idle conversation with her the whole way there. Most monsters avoided us, though that Napstablook fellow was pretty cool in my book, though a little shy. For example, I learned that she adores puns and is a master of healing and fire magic, and she learned, to great excitement, how several portions of the human body work, which is a field that I know relatively well due to my primary interests, being sciences of any variety.

"But yeah, as humans, we don't actually outright absorb food and whatever magic is in it." I tell her, to her great surprise. "See, we actually have what referred to as a digestive system, which is in total about sixty feet, or just about nineteen and a half meters long." I continue, but she stops me.

"But how on earth can something that long fit within your body?" Toriel asks, looking to my torso, which a relatively lean build. Not really muscular, but also not fat. I realize at this moment that I'm actually a surprisingly good baseline for these sorts of measurements, being of only slightly above average height, completely average weight, and no fat or muscle to get in the way. I shrug these thoughts off, knowing Chara is probably listening with interest as well, since they are both from a time where none of this was common knowledge. Though, I do smirk at the question.

"Okay, you've made noodles of a variety, right? Specifically, spaghetti?" I ask, and at her nod, I reply. "There you go. Our digestive tracts aren't completely solid, or truly secured into one absolutely fixed position. They're malleable, meaning they can move, as well as the fact that they are basically able to wind themselves around so that it can all fit within my torso, specifically starting from about here," I motion to an area just above the belly button range, "to about here." I continue, motioning to just above my pelvis. "The digestive system is also more so ineffecient compared to your method, due to us producing waste products, hence the need for restrooms on the surface." She remains silent, more than likely processing this information for future use, until she realizes where we are, which is approaching a house of some variety. "Oh! We have arrived!" She states, seemingly shocked that she lost track of time that easily. I just snicker at her shock, getting a light chortle out of her. "Well, let us go inside, yes?" She says with a small smile, easily getting an easygoing smile out of me.

"Sounds perfect to me, I could really use a nap right about now." I say, stretching my arms out.

"Of course," Toriel replies, entering the house with me right behind her. There's only one way that I know how to describe the place, and that would be "homely". It's got the rustic appearance of having been well-lived in, but everything is still kept clean and tidy for the most part, reminding me of how I keep my home.

'Well, for the most part.' I think to myself with a small smile, thinking back to how I can be quite the messy individual at times.

"The guest bedroom is your first door on the left. There is a bathroom included, so there's no need to worry about that." Toriel directs, with a smile smile since she now understands why humans need bathrooms. I just chuckle at that, before heading down the hall.

"Thanks Toriel. You're like a mom away from my own." I say, not noticing the beaming smile that she gives at that comment, before entering the room and turning the light on. Considering it's a guest bedroom, it's surprisingly well-kept, with minimal amounts of dust or clutter. "Heh, I'd have figured that she, like anybody else, would have used this room for storage purposes." I say to myself, before shrugging. I then pause, before grimacing. "Son of a bitch. I left my backpack at home." I mutter, before cursing to myself, and checking what I have on my person. Thankfully, I wasn't a complete fool, and I brought my phone, wallet (admittedly useless, but it was more of a peace of mind thing), my multi-tool, my knife, which I put away and swore not to use unless in the most dire of circumstance thanks to the previous conversation I had with Toriel, and my power bank, which I had fully charged just before falling into the cave thanks to it being solar powered. The fact that it was at bare minimum thirty times the electrical capacity of a standard power bank, and I was golden on that. My phone had no service, so it was just down to bare bone utilities, as well as music and anything else along that line. 'Thank god I have an overly huge musical library on this thing.' I think to myself, thankful for at least that. I then stretch once more, before pulling off my trusty winter jacket and sweatshirt, both of which I also brought, mostly due to just feeling more comfortable with them on my person. Never know when you need the extra warmth. Just like that, in my American-patterned shirt (a gift from my grandparents, thus worth wearing, no matter how much I may dislike the country) and my blue jeans, I hopped onto the bed, and passed out, ready for the next endeavor of traversing the Underground.

 **And that's a wrap on this Chapter. Admittedly, I did want this to be longer, but at the same time, I wanted to get this one out as soon as possible, since I finally got the motivation to crank this one out.**

 **As I have said before (though admittedly lost to the throes of time DX), please feel free to leave a review, pointing out any glaring holes in the plot, or any way that I can improve my writing to make it more immersive or bearable to the readers. One can only get better through constructive criticism, after all! Though, flames will be used to heat dishwater. Throw some criticism in there if you do, and I'll work on it.**

 **Until next time, (hopefully not another damn year and some change DX)**

 **-Sonix95**


	4. Revelations, and Resolve

**Hello once again to all, and yes, you are reading that right: TWO UPDATES WITHIN A WEEK?! *gasp***

 **Well, let's just say that I managed to get just about everything that I needed to get straightened out taken care of, so now I will (hopefully) be able to give this story the attention that I've been wanting to give it for a long while.**

 **Also, in this chapter, YAY, POV SWAPS!**

 **But hey, enough blathering, let's get this moving once again:**

 **DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit, fan-based alternate plotline. I do not own any of the content that is provided in this story, outside of any original characters and variations of the plot that was provided by the original game of UNDERTALE. All mentions of characters that previously have existed in the game belong to Toby Fox as well as any assotiates of Toby Fox in the production of the game. Please support the official release.**

 **Chapter 4: Revelations, and Resolve**

After a rather peaceful sleep, one not actually ridden with nightmares, which is a bit of a shock to me since I usually have them when I'm in a place that I'm not familiar with, I wake up around the same time I normally do, which is about five hours after I fell asleep. After confirming this on my phone, I make a move to get up and get moving for the day.

'Wait,' Chara calls out, making me halt in my steps. 'Do you suppose that we may have a small talk before we continue?' She asks, sounding... tentative? Hesitant? I couldn't tell for sure, but I nod anyway, relaxing back into the bed and closing my eyes, thinking of how to go about re-entering the dreamscape, or mindscape, or whatever the hell you can call it.

Before I know it, I feel someone poke me on the nose, and sure enough, when I open my eyes, Chara's bent over me, and I'm sitting in my Grandfather's chair. I smile at her, making her roll her eyes, and step away from me, allowing me to get up from the chair. I roll my shoulders about a bit, before adressing her. "So, what's up?" I ask.

"Uh, well..." Chara mutters, looking rather hesitant. Something about this seems odd to me, as she gave me the impression of being a somewhat headstrong individual in our first encounter. "I actually wished to speak with you about this SOUL-sharing situation we find ourselves in," She says, seeming to pick up her resolve about halfway through the statement, straightening her posture and starting to look me dead in the eyes, which I do appreciate since it gives me a chance to admire her eyes once again, the bright red eyes shining with what may very well be excitement.

"Lay it on me," I say somewhat casually, before noticing with a little amusement our different ways of speaking. Whereas she speaks from a time long passed, using eloquent words in a fashion that shows long times of practice in the english language, however archaic it may sound, I use modern day slang easily, despite actually being able to use the more eloquent speech of the era long gone. I had always staked myself as being able to hold my own when reading old literature, such as Shakespeare or Homer's works. But I digress.

"W-Well, I, for one, am concerned with something that may seem rather trivial, but is of significance to me." Chara remarks, and judging by the small stutter in her voice, she seems to have noticed the difference as well, and is maybe feeling put out by it a little bit. Rather than comment, however, I just motion for her to continue. "If at all possible, would it be acceptable if I took the helm of your body for a short while?" She asks, and her nervousness seems to have come roaring back at full force, since she refuses to look me in the eyes, and she's started fidgeting with her shirt's sleeves using her pinkies, as well as shifting her weight from one foot to the other, as she's still standing to address me.

I however, just shrug. "Sure, it's no bother to me. All I ask is that you try to not hurt my body if you can help it," I reply.

Chara seems to brighten on the spot, before absolutely _beaming_ and nodding once. "I thank you for this." She speaks, still managing to sound eloquent despite her obvious excitement. "I've been wishing to have control of a body for a long while now, as I have been d-deceased," She voices, though there was a small hitch in her voice at stating her status before meeting me. "Oh, what I will be able to do now! I'll be able to converse with the Whimsuns again, or maybe even the Moldsmals! It will be a jolly time, as they will know that their human princess has returned! I'll even get to speak with Mother again!" She excitedly proclaims, surprising me at her statement. Princess? She, however, seems to have immediately caught her slip, and immediately turned pale, looking rather odd on her since I've seen her with an oddly pronounced blush on her face since I met her yesterday. "W-Wait, forget I said that..." She stutters out, but I'm latched onto her statement.

"Nope, not until you explain that one." I all but demand of her. "I mean, I can understand that you'd want to meet with the monsters that you've obviously been attached to, but the fact that you're their "Princess", and this "Mother" of yours is all but screaming at me that you're more than you seem," I state, giving her a firm, but not scathing, look. "Just who are you, Chara?"

Chara seems to hold off on answering, making me think that she was going to not respond to me, before sighing and sagging over a bit. "Fine, I shall tell you." She relents. "I am the adoptive child of the Monster's King and Queen, Asgore and Toriel Dreemurr, and previous sister to the ex-heir of the throne, Asriel Dreemurr," She avers. "And yes, that does mean that the very same monster that you've been idly speaking with along the travel to her home is that very same Toriel, my adoptive mother," She states, shocking me no small amount.

"Huh. Never would have expected the queen of a race to be so easygoing and friendly," I respond, somewhat surprised. Chara nods.

"Indeed, that was my thought when she first laid eyes upon me, and I her," She agrees. "Unfortunately, I ended up passing on when Asriel and I..." She pauses, before gaining a pointedly distressed look on her face. "W-We... O-Oh, lord..." She falters, before breaking down into tears, to my surprise. Before I can do anything, she falls to the floor and begins wailing. "Our plan! I failed to notice before this moment, but if she's here, as well as all of the rest of the monsters, then that states that our plan was all for naught! We failed to break the barrier!" She wept, before begining to bawl. Having never dealt with this before, I did the only thing that I could think of, which is sit next to her and give her a strong embrace, something which she, for some reason or another, easily accepts, clutching onto me as though her very life depends on it, and continues wailing into my shoulder. We sit there for quite a long while, with me allowing her to vent her sorrows, and she using me as a rock of support.

"Hey, it's all right," I finally remark, and she pulls away, her face stained with tears, her eyes bloodshot, and her cheeks discernably more red than her normal blushed hue. She looks me in the eyes with a broken look, before burying her face back ito my shoulder.

"How could it possibly be so?" She barely mutters, but due to my proximity, I could still easily hear her. I just give her a small smile.

"Easily," I reply, giving her my most resolute look that I can muster. "Because of your story, as well as your passion and sorrows from failing, it can only tell me that the monsters going free has been something you've been wanting for a long time now. Therefore, as two SOUL-bound individuals, it's only right that I carry whatever legacy you may have written into the annuls of time. I _will_ carry your, and by extention, Asriel's wills. I will free them, and help them integrate into the new world above to the best of my abilities," I proclaim with absolute conviction. "You have my word on that, and if there's anything you should know about me, it's that I will hold true to my word to the best of my capabilities," I declare. The moment I finish stating those words, Chara grabs a hold of me, and gives me the strongest hug she can manage, burying her face into my chest this time.

"Thank you so much..." She mutters, and I can only smile at her.

"Of course, anything that I can do for my soul-bound," I reply, sitting there for a while, enjoying the hug. However, there's things to do, and now, I have something to accomplish, which causes my resolve to flare back up again. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" I say while smirking, before getting up, practically dragging her with me. "Go ahead and take control for a while, stretch our legs a bit. I'll relax for a while, okay? I have things to think about," I comment, sitting on the loveseat in the room, and gesturing for her to sit in my grandfather's chair. She excitedly sits into the chair, before closing her eyes and going limp. Within moments of that happening, the T.V. in the room flicks on of it's own volition, displaying what my body sees. "That's handy to have," I mutter, and the screen moves around, looking at the room that I had fallen asleep in.

Xx- Chara's POV -xX

I look around the room, happily noting that the room strikes a massive resemblance to the room which she resided for quite a while. 'I am glad to see that this room is so similar. Maybe she kept it like that in memory of us.' I ponder, before noting the slice of pie on the floor. Immediately, I recognise it as being Butterscotch-Cinnamon, Mother's signature, and give a large smile before making a move toward the pie, but stumbling. 'Curses. It seems as though Chris's body is lankier than my own.' I think, before practically _feeling_ him bristle at the comment.

'Oi, I'll have you know that I am simply slender.' Chris remarks with a bit of an edge in his voice, though still managing to sound playful. 'Maybe it's a recurring statement?' I think to myself, before giggling. However, as soon as I do, I pause for a moment and contemplate something. 'Wait for a moment, I have never felt this emotional before...' I trail, pondering. At that moment, Chris seemingly decides that this is an opportune moment to cut in.

'Sounds to me like you may have had Depersonalization Disorder, or even Antisocial Personality Disorder, though it is likely that it is the former." Chris responds. 'Though, it may also have been an issue due to trauma to the brain, generally via concussive forces damaging the portion of the brain that controls emotions,' He replies, and I flinch, both mentally and physically. 'Ah, hit the nail on the head, have I?' He responds, and I just slowly nod. 'Following that, it's very possible that, since you are sharing my brain right now, the lack of damages to those core areas are allowing you to feel emotion more powerfully than before. Since you said "never" in your statement, that tells me that that must have happened in your younger years, in which you wouldn't remember the times before,' he deduces. 'But, that's in the past, it seems. We can talk about that later, if you want. But for now, we have things to do, and in your case, that's to get the hang of operating my body, and for you to go out there and have a bit of fun. Or, you could reconnect with Toriel, even. Just let me know when you want me to take back control,' He states, before fading into silence.

I stay in that position for a while, thinking about what he said, and realize that it made logical sense, despite that I personally do not know the proccesses behind making the human body function. He somehow made what is an alien subject to me easy to understand. Reguardless, I nod, and, with a smile on our face, grab Chris's sweatshirt and coat, put them on, and head out the door, pie in hand. I then walk into the living room, see Mother there, engrossed in one of her books. I set the peice of pie on the table, and, before she can register what has happened, I've locked our arms around her, openly sobbing into her chest.

"Young one, whatever is the matter?" She asks gently, despite her obvious bewilderment.

"Mother..." I whimper, and she freezes, before I pull back and look her dead in the eye. "I'm sorry to have left you for so long," I snivel, and she looks me in the eyes, confusion evident in her posture.

"Young one, whatever are you saying?" Toriel replies, "It has only been a few hours," she notes, but I shake our head.

"For me, it has apparently been almost two hundred years since I left you, as Chris has told me." I claim, and she, once more, freezes, but this time in absolute shock, before tears begin welling up in her eyes as well.

"C-Chara?" Toriel asks, almost in a pleading tone of voice, begging for me to not be conjuring a fabrication. I just nod, and before anything else, she pulls me into a nearly bone-shattering hug, despite the fact that I am in a body that she doesn't recognise as well. "B-But how?" She stutters, "You and Asriel..." She trails off, but the insinuation is strong enough for me to nod.

"Yes, we did pass, and for that I am sorry, Mother." I reply, "Please, allow me to tell you why this has happened;" I continue, before launching into what the plan had entailed, why it failed, and the cause of my effective ressurrection. Chris mantained his silence throughout the explanation, though it was obvious to me that he was very much so bothered by the plan. Toriel, on the other hand, was not as forgiving as he.

"Young lady," Toriel says while glowering slightly, causing me to flinch and bow my head submissively, "I can understand why you did what you did, but I am dissappointed in both you and Asriel. You should have told us," She continued, making me flinch again. "But," She pressed on, and I slowly looked up to see her not glowering, but instead giving a small smile to me, before getting out of her chair, approaching me, and ruffling our hair, very much so how she previously had done when showing affection to me while alive. "I can understand why you did what you did, and I am very proud of you to have such resolve, as well as faith in your brother," She says, before seemingly glowering into space, though, from previous experience, I could garner a guess that it was toward the other end of the Underground. "It's your Father that I am even more so disappointed in, giving you the idea that you are... were... the hope of the Underground, and that you should be willing to sacrifice so much. It makes him taking the souls of those six other children that much more deplorable." She expresses, and I freeze entirely, as does Chris within out shared mind.

"...Six?" I manage to get out after a small pause, and, upon seeing Toriel's nod and scowl, I look to the ground and clench our fists. "But why would he do such a thing?!" I all but shout, Chris's oddly strong voice resonating strongly throughout the house.

"Because it is within the strength of seven human souls that the barrier can be broken." Toriel replies, though with no less venom than she was expressing before. "Asgore has declared war on humans, and has murdered six children over the many years since you have passed, Chara," she claims, grimacing.

"And it's at this point where I stop you both from driving yourselves further into rage," Chris cuts it, shocking me as I hadn't managed to figure out how to speak while not in control yet. 'I'll show you how to do this later, Chara,' He gently assures me before continuing out loud. "Now, I want you to think long and hard about something, here." he expresses, "Wouldn't you say that a man, driven into grievance by the loss of his two children, holds every right to be legitiamtely pissed off at the world?" He asks logically. Upon seeing Toriel nod, he continues pressing his point. "Now, from what I can tell, you more than likely tried to get him to call off the war, but think about that for a moment. Do you honestly think that the King of your race would be able to do that immediately after declaring war and be able to save face? That would make him look like an irresponsible individual, whom does not think his decisions through, or, even worse, a King who does not hold the resolve to see through his declarations. Throughout all of history, the most successful Kings and Queens, as well as leaders in general, have been the ones who are right and just to their subjects, but are unafraid to enforce and follow their own beliefs and declarations. Had Asgore called off the war, even now, he would have lost the following of his subjects, which would cause a possible overthrowing, and then anarchy would reign supreme, causing untold amounts of damage to both property within the kingdom, as well as the life within it," He explains, and it all begins to make sense as to why he's refused to declare an end to the war. "And besides that, he also carries the guilt of killing children on his shoulders, and frankly if that was me, I would rather spare my subjects that guilt, and carry it myself," he declares, surprising us both at the conviction he's showing to defend Asgore's pride. "That's all I have to say on the matter. All I have to say to you, Toriel, is to understand where he stands as the King. He always has a Sword of Damocles over his head, and one wrong move could easily spell his demise, as well as the demise of his kingdom and the people in it," And with that, Chris fades back into our mind, leaving us to our thoughts.

Toriel is eventually the first to speak up between us. "I... suppose that he brings up a logical point. And, as an outsider, he's able to do so without emotion clouding his thoughts." She says, before sighing. "I suppose that this conversation is now over, as we both have much to think about, at least regarding your Father's actions of the past. We'll continue this conversation later." She asserts, before standing and heading to her room, her face set into deep thought.

"Very well, Mother. I shall be out, catching up with the monsters present in the ruins." I respond, before heading out the front door.

*Several Hours Later*

I return to the house, lightly exhausted , but over all very pleased with my rounds of the Ruins. I had happily gotten reacquainted with nearly all the monsters in the Ruins, and they all welcomed me back from beyond the grave with surprisingly open arms. As I enter the house, I call out in the obligatory fashion that Toriel would understand. "Mother, I'm home!" I exuberantly call, before heading into the living room, as was her go-to spot within our old house, and still seems to be so here.

Toriel's already in the living room, and is just placing her bookmark on her most recent page. "Welcome home, my child. And to you, Chris, welcome back," she replies, addressing us both. "Before anything else, I would like to personally thank you for opening my eyes as to why my ex-husband had been acting the way he had, Chris," she states, before standing and bowing to us, though it was specifically directed at Chris.

"Don't mention it, Toriel." Chris responds from our shared mind. "After all, logic is one of the things I'm good at. I'm not saying that you are not a logical individual, but you were allowing your emotions on the matter to cloud your judgement of the King, a surprisingly human thing to happen," he observes. Toriel nods at this observation.

"I would almost personally say that you act more monster that human," Toriel concedes.

"Mother," I say, getting her attention to focus on my half. "That being said, I'd like to leave the Ruins, and go talk with Father personally," I assert. Toriel sighs, before nodding.

"I understand, but please do note this;" Toriel professes. "The monsters on the other side of the Ruin's exit will more than likely attack and attempt to harm you on sight. Therefore, I would like to personally test your strength of willpower before you leave, as I am aware that you will not willingly attack a monster down here, as you have obviously expressed before, as well as shown from when that Froggit attacked you with the intent to harm or kill," she continues, before standing and moving out of the living room. We follow along, worried as to what the test will be.

We travel down the stairs of her home, before proceeding through a series of long hallways. Before long, we arrive at the exit of the Ruins.

"Now..." Toriel drawls, before whirling about, yanking on our shared SOUL. "Show me your resolve!" And with that, before we can even manage to get our wits about us, the battle begins.

 **Aaaaand done! Well, that's a wrap for this one, and I hope you continue to stay tuned, as I will try and keep cranking these chapters out!**

 **I like me my cliffhangers. :P**

 **Either way, to those who decide to do so, please, leave a review; one doesn't improve without constructive criticism, yeah?**

 **Also, I'd like to point out that even if you don't agree with Chara's personality in this, I like to think that they are often misunderstood, and thus are a malleable character that can change depending on circumstance. In this case, it's through almost 200 years of sensory deprivation and their own thoughts with no outside interference.**

 **Either way, that's it for this one, and I'll catch you in the next installment!**

 **-Sonix95**


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